San Francisco Police Make Arrest in Stolen Picasso Drawing from Weinstein Gallery

Pablo Picasso's "Tete de Femme." Police say the pencil drawing, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, was taken from the gallery near Union Square by a man who walked in, grabbed the drawing, and then fled in a waiting taxicab Tuesday, July 5, 2011. AP Photo/Weinstein Gallery.

By: Terry Collins, Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (AP).- Police say they have made an arrest in connection with the daytime theft of a valuable Picasso drawing from an art gallery in downtown San Francisco.

According to witnesses, a man took the artwork from the Weinstein Gallery on Tuesday morning and fled in a waiting taxi. The gallery says the piece was a 1965 pencil-on-paper drawing titled "Tete de Femme," recently purchased at an auction for $122,500.

Surveillance video from a restaurant several doors down from the gallery showed a man walking by carrying a piece of framed artwork under his arm. He was dressed similarly to the police description of the suspect.

Police have not provided any details about the arrest, saying they'll discuss it at a Thursday morning news conference.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (REUTERS).- Police investigating the theft of a Pablo Picasso sketch from a San Francisco art gallery impounded a taxicab on Wednesday used as the getaway vehicle, hoping for clues from its surveillance camera.

The car was seized a day after an unidentified but smartly dressed thief stole Picasso's 1965 pencil drawing "Tete de Femme," which translates as "head of a woman," according to the Weinstein Gallery.

A man in dark glasses walked into the gallery and, before anyone noticed, made off with the sketch and escaped in a taxicab, San Francisco police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said. The sketch measures about 11 inches by 8 inches.

Police learned the name of the cab company used by the thief and on Wednesday spoke to the driver and impounded the cab to gather evidence.

The driver is not suspected as an accomplice in the theft, police said.

Police said they were pulling images from the cab's camera to see if it captured anything that could lead to the suspect.

"We're hoping a member of the public recognizes the piece, if someone is walking around with it or trying to sell it," Esparza said.

Video footage posted online from Lefty O'Douls, a bar on the same block as the gallery, showed a man appearing to carry a drawing, but police were unable to immediately confirm if the footage showed the suspect from the Picasso heist. "We can only say this could be our suspect," Esparza said.

The Weinstein Gallery is located near San Francisco's tourist-filled Union Square, and it specializes in works from renowned painter Marc Chagall.

(Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Cynthia Johnston)

Earlier:

Proprietors of San Francisco Restaurant Say They Have Footage of Picasso Thief

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (AP).- The proprietors of a San Francisco restaurant said Wednesday they have surveillance footage of a sockless thief who snatched a valuable Picasso drawing off an art gallery wall.

Lefty O'Doul's released images showing a man walking on a sidewalk carrying a framed artwork under his arm.

The restaurant is just a few doors down from the Weinstein Gallery, where police say a man stole a Picasso drawing late Tuesday morning before fleeing in a waiting taxi.

Gallery President Rowland Weinstein told the San Francisco Chronicle that the piece, a 1965 pencil-on-paper drawing titled "Tete de Femme," was purchased at auction this spring for $122,500 and had been part of a collection belonging to Picasso's driver.

The man in the video is dressed similarly to a police description of the suspect.

Police say he was a well-dressed man in his 30s wearing a dark jacket and pants, large dark glasses and loafers with no socks.

The theft left an empty space on the gallery's wall amid similarly valuable works by other modern masters, including Marc Chagall, Joan Miro and Salvador Dali.

Art experts said the publicity surrounding the theft would make it difficult for the thief to sell the painting without attracting notice. Police are hoping art collectors and dealers might spot the piece and alert law enforcement.